Consumer Price Index Malaysia July 2018

CPI increased by 0.9 per cent in July 2018 to 119.8 compared to 118.7 in corresponding month of the preceding year. The increase in the overall index was due to higher price for Transport (+6.7 per cent), Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+2.0 per cent), Education (+1.0 per cent), Restaurants & Hotels (+1.0 per cent) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+0.7 per cent). (Chart 1).

On a monthly basis, CPI increased 0.2 per cent as compared to June 2018. CPI for the period January-July 2018 registered an increase of 1.4 per cent as compared to the same period last year.

The overall index for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages which accounted 29.5 per cent in the CPI weights increased 0.7 per cent in July 2018 and was attributed by the food sub-group index which comprised of Fish & Seafood (+2.4 per cent). Meanwhile, the index for sub-group Meat decreased by 1.8 per cent in July 2018 as compared to July 2017, followed by index for sub-groups Sugar, Jam, Honey, Chocolate & Confectionery (-1.0 per cent), Vegetables (-0.9 per cent), Milk & Eggs (-0.9 per cent) and Oils & Fats (-0.4 per cent). The decrease was due to the index of goods which dropped in most states such as Tomatoes (-8.5 per cent), Brinjals (-8.0 per cent), Fresh Milk (-4.5 per cent), Watermelon (-3.0 per cent), Round Cabbage (-2.5 per cent), Chicken (-2.2 per cent) and Oils (-0.8 per cent). Meanwhile, the index for Food Away From Home increased 2.0 per cent in July 2018.

In terms of overall CPI, four states surpassed the national CPI rate of 0.9 per cent recorded in July 2018 as compared to July 2017. The states were Negeri Sembilan (+1.3 per cent), Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya (+1.2 per cent), Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur (+1.1 per cent) and Johor (+1.0 per cent).

Meanwhile, the higher increase in the index for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages was reflected in most states in Malaysia. Two states recorded higher increases for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages index above the national index level (+0.7 per cent) in July 2018 as compared to the corresponding month in 2017. The index for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose 3.5 per cent in Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur and 0.9 per cent in Sarawak. (Chart 2)

Core inflation decreased 0.2 per cent in July after an increase of 0.1 per cent in June 2018. Among the major groups which influenced the lower core rate were price decreases for Communication (-3.9 per cent), Clothing & Footwear (-3.0 per cent) and Miscellaneous Goods & Services (-3.0 per cent). Core inflation, which excludes most volatile items of fresh food, as well as administered prices of goods and services recorded changes ranging from -0.2 per cent to 2.2 per cent for the period January to July 2018 as compared with the same period of the previous year.(Table 2)